Daily Archives: September 24, 2014

Chicken stuffed and baked in potato shells

Preparation Time : 30-35 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hour 20 minutes

Serving : 6-8 members

Description

Here is another snack that is not deep fried but apt for ifthar time while breaking your fast . It Was really yum that I just got a tiny bit to taste . This is a must try recipe folks .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Potatoes	4 medium
Capsicum	1 (finely chopped)
Carrot	1 (finely chopped)
Cooked shredded boneless chicken	1 cup
Salt and black pepper	to taste
Oil	little
Chilli flakes	to taste
Mayonnaise	3 tablespoon
Hot tomato sauce	3 tablespoon
Sour cream / hung curd	3 tablespoons
cheese spread	3 tablespoon (optional )
Vinegar	1/4 teaspoon
Spring onions chopped	1/2 cup
Blue cheese or any cheese of choice	garnish
coriander leaves	garnishing

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
Wash, dry and lightly rub the potatoes with oil ,salt and pepper to taste .Pierce the potatoes with a fork and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 1 hour or until easily pierced with a sharp knife.Remove from oven and cool.
Once cool, slice the potatoes in half and scoop out the filling until you have a nice potato shell.Refrigerate potato shells until ready to finish.
Mix mayonnaise , sour cream / hung curd , hot tomato sauce , cheese spread , vinegar , salt , pepper , chilli flakes , capsicum , carrots , spring onions and cooked chicken together and mix well . Taste and adjust .
Spoon filling into potato shell.top with blue cheese or any cheese of your choice .Place the filled potatoes in a greased baking pan.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degree C for approximately 10 -12 minutes or until the cheese has melted .
Remove from the oven.Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve hot .

Note

Cheese spread and blue cheese are optional .
You can follow the same recipe avoiding both the cheeses .
The scooped out potato flesh can also be added to the filling and mixed together .
Vegetarians can substitute chicken with paneer / cottage cheese and follow the same recipe .

Mushroom stuffed fig – kum kum

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 1/2 minute if cooking in over stove top , if baking 5-7 minutes

Serving : 3-4 minutes

Description

Mushrooms stuffed fig Kum – Kum .a perfect bite size indulgent dish that I came up with left over ingredients in my refrigerator . This dish makes for great party nibbles . Hubby has the habit of buying things in large quantity what so ever . Finally I am put to test to use and experiment with the left over ingredients . Dried figs are always had as it is or I make a sweet dish with it . My recent liking towards sweet , hot , spicy and sour elements together made me try my hands on this dish . It was a melange of textures and flavours . The pucker – inducing sweetness of the dried figs takes center stage in this dish . Wanted to serve this for lunch as a starter ( this dish is an ideal starter ) but as I had my hubby’s niece and nephew ( rahima zenofer and mohamed ) drop in by 11 o clock , so served it earlier as a brunch . ( thought of baking it in the oven as I had to serve it suddenly had to pan roast it ) . The dish did hit the right spot but turned out a way bit spicy . So I have made corrections in the recipe . Now … Why the word Kum – Kum in the dishes name ???? On my visit to Agra came across a dish named raseela Kum – Kum .( the dish was tomatoes stuffed with mushrooms in a gravy form ) The name sounded so catchy . Stored it in my mind and having the liberty to name this dish just added the Kum – Kum .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Dried figs	1 1/2 cups
Mushrooms	30 numbers
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon
Garlic grated	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger grated	1/4 teaspoon
Green chillies	1 teaspoon chopped finely ( I crushed them coarsely )
Lemon juice	1 teaspoon
Milk	2 teaspoon to dissolve saffron
Onions grated	2 teaspoons
Oil	2 teaspoons
Saffron	2 grams ( a pinch )
Salt	to taste
White pepper powder	1 /2 teaspoon or to taste

Method

Soak the dried figs in luck warm water for 20 minutes .
Drain , wipe and chop to make a paste .( I blitzed the soaked figs in a food processor to a corse paste ) .
Add all the other ingredients except for the mushrooms , oil , milk and saffron . Season to taste .
( Season well as the mushroom caps do not have any seasoning added to it .if not seasoned well , the dish might result being a bland dish ) Remove the stems alone from the whole cleaned mushrooms .
( I chopped the stems and sautéed it in a little butter and added it to the fig mixture not wanting to waste the stems ) .
Stuff each mushroom with a tablespoon full of fig mixture and set aside for 20 minutes .soak saffron in milk and set aside . In a pan ,heat the oil till moderately hot .
Arrange the figs filled mushrooms in the pan and let them cook on low heat for 1 1/2 minutes .Turn the mushrooms over and cook for another minute .
Remove the mushrooms from the pan , brush with saffron dissolved in milk and serve immediately with tooth picks poked into each fried mushroom.

Notes

The mushroom can also be placed on a greased baking dish and baked in a moderately hot oven (180 degree Celsius ) for 5-8 minutes .
You can substitute any non- veg or veg filling instead of dried figs .
I marinated the mushroom caps also with some ginger garlic and green chilli paste but it turned out too spicy so just leave the mushroom as it is .

Grilled semolina cakes with mushroom ragout

Preparation Time : 25 -30 minutes

Cooking Time : 35 minutes

Serving : 5-6 members

Description

Grilled semolina cakes with mushroom ragout . A recipe I came across in a magazine where they had used polenta . Thinking I had polenta in hand started of with the recipe but then what I thought was polenta was couscous . My mind was set to prepare this dish so just didn’t want to stop . Not knowing what to do , I remembered a contestant in master chef India season 2 making sushi with semolina . With a spark of excitement ,substituted polenta with semolina and went ahead . Finally not having half the ingredients in hand that was demanded in the recipe . I had no other option other than to steel the idea and cook to my comfort level . Double checked making sure the semolina cake as well as the mushroom ragout tasted good . Assembled and while clicking picture’s , the entire family was in the dinning table . Rushed to the table and served . It was a hit with every one . This dish is a perfect vegetarian canopy that lends a rustic appeal to the succulent texture’s . The boring semolina was created with a cracker of an idea into an exotic gourmet transformation that brought a lot of smiles at home :-)))

Ingredients for semolina cake

Ingredients	Quantity
Butter	20 grams
Onion	1 big chopped
Garlic	4 flakes chopped
Dried herbs ( oregano , rosemary , thyme , basil )	1/4 teaspoon each
Semolina	1 cup
Water or chicken/ vegetable stock	2 1/2 cups ( I used 2 maggi chicken stock cubes with water )
Salt + pepper	to taste , ( if using stock cubes avoid salt as the stock cubes contain a lot of salt )
Parmesan cheese	50 grams grated ( I didn't use to omit a little bit of calories )
Oil	50 ml + extra

Ingredients for mushroom ragout

Ingredients	Quantity
Mushrooms	1 packet sliced ( I used button mushrooms )
Butter	20 grams
Onion	1 chopped
Garlic	3 flakes crushed
Fresh cream	1/4 cup
Flour ( maida )	1 tablespoon full
Milk	1 cup
Dried herbs	( oregano , rosemary , thyme , basil ) a big pinch each
Chilli flakes + salt + pepper	to taste
Coriander leaves	to garnish

Method for semolina cake

Heat butter in a pan . Sauté onion and garlic to translucent . Add dried herbs , chilli flakes and pepper powder .
Pour stock or water along with stock cubes . Bring to boil .
Add semolina little at a time , stirring constantly , making sure no lumps are formed and semolina is cooked through to form a thick paste consistency like uppma .
Takes about 6-8 minutes to cook . add grated cheese and mix well .
Grease a flat cake tin or tray with oil and pour the semolina cooked mixture in .
Spread the mixture equally all over , levelling the top .cool completely .
Then cut into equal shaped squares with the help of a wet knife .
Heat a griddle with little oil ( I used my dosa tawa ) and grill the semolina cakes to a light golden brown colour and a crisp outer layer .

Method form mushroom ragout

Heat butter in a pan .
Sauté onion , garlic and sliced mushrooms for 5 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked through and water content evaporates .
Add flour and sauté for a minute .
Pour milk and cream , keep stirring until it gets to a thick creamy sauce .
Season with salt , pepper , chilli flakes and dried herds . Taste and adjust .

How to proceed

Place a teaspoon full of mushroom ragout above each grilled semolina cake .
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot .

Chocolate chip cookies

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 12 – 15 minutes

Serving : 4-6 people

Description

Chocolate chip cookies . I don’t fancy cookies much but my daughter ANISHA likes cookies a lot . Good that a lot of things I would never attempt to try are liked by my kids , so I end up giving the dish a try . It’s helped me widen my culinary skills . These cookies are a delicate , alchemical infusion of flavours and textures . the best part is while baking , the surprising array of aroma that fills our home . It’s even better than eating the cookies . When hubby came home for lunch , he was like what have you baked ?? With a board smile on his face . These cookies had a crisp edges and a moist Center . Hubby does not like anything that’s too crisp so had to cook the cookies to his liking . Wanting to take a few cookies to my elder mother – in – laws( my father – in – laws elder brothers wife ) place as it was her birthday that day but nothing was left as we all gobbled the entire lot . The chocolate chips that bursts in between every bite is a surprise and makes you want to eat more . Truly an impeccable indulgent .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
unsalted butter	1/2 cup
dark brown sugar	3/4 cup , ( incase you don't have brown sugar use normal sugar )
sugar	3/4 cup
large eggs	2
vanilla essence	1 teaspoon
chocolate chips	1 cup
flour ( maida )	2 1/4 cups
baking soda	3/4 teaspoon
salt-	1 teaspoon

Method

Evenly position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. ( 180 degrees Celsius ) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets.
Melt butter in the microwave or a sauce pan . Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips .
Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls.
Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.
Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.

Garlic murukku

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 5-6 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 4 members

Description

Garlic Murukku . This was a kitchen experiment that my daughter ANISHA came up with . She is on a holiday at my place with out her hubby ( that’s the high light this holiday as its the rarest of rare’s that I get her alone ) . The joy of having her here is an OMG experience . I am making maximum use of our girl time together shopping , eating out , watching movies , cooking , gossiping …… ( the list is endless )we were both just talking about something and suddenly my daughter is like I feel like eating murukku’s . We just got into the kitchen and started of . The beauty of this recipe is that it comes together very quickly . My girl is so bossy in the kitchen and I don’t like it when people tell me what to do when I cook . But finally we came up with a flavour full Murukku with complexity of garlic that lends an added textural surprise . Murukku’s always bring a sense of ceremony attached to it with nostalgia . Summer holidays were celebrated at my grand parents place in palghat with home made traditional nibbles filled in huge air tight containers , kept beside the dinning table . So we kids could eat them when ever we wanted as hunger has no time and can strike any where especially when with cousins :-))

Ingredients for the dough

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice flour	1 1/2 cups , ( I used the normal iddiappam rice flour )
Oil	1/4 cup for the flour + to deep fry
Water	little to make a dough

Ingredients for Garlic paste

Ingredients	Quantity
Garlic	2 cloves
Dry red chillies	4
Curry leaves	few
Green Chillies	2
Salt	to taste

Method

Blend the garlic , dry red chillies , curry leaves , green chillies and salt together to a coarse paste , adding little water if required .
Add this ground paste to the rice flour and mix well .Heat oil and add it to the rice flour mixture .
Mix well adding very little water to get a dough consistency .
Take little dough , fill into the murukku press and press over the hot oil .
Deep fry till crisp and golden in colour . The hissing sound stops once the murukku’s are done .
Drain and set aside for some time for the oil to drain and cool a bit . Do the same with the remaining dough .
Keep stored in air tight containers and serve when required .